LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former Los Angeles
Dodgers owner Frank McCourt testified on Friday that safety was a top
priority at the stadium and he denied responsibility for any gaps in
security that lead to the brutal beating of a baseball fan on opening
day in 2011.

Bryan Stow suffered a skull fracture and brain damage when he was
attacked by two men in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium following a
game against their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants. He is
seeking $35 million from the team and its former owner.

Stow, a 45-year-old former paramedic who can no longer work and
requires daily medical care, claims that poor security and
inadequate, 30-year-old lighting in the stadium parking lot gave his
assailants the opportunity to attack him.

McCourt sold the Dodgers to a group led by former basketball star
Earvin "Magic" Johnson in 2012 during an acrimonious divorce. He
told the court during more than an hour of testimony that fan safety
had been a top priority during his stewardship.

But questioned about specifics of stadium security at the time of
Stow's beating, McCourt repeatedly asserted that he was not directly
involved with such matters, at one point telling the court that he
did not know who was his vice president of security in March 2011.

McCourt also said that he was not involved in a decision to move
away from having uniformed security at the stadium and could not
recall if the parking lot lights had been upgraded during his
tenure.

Asked by Stow's attorney if he were aware that there was a 35-minute
delay in security personnel responding to the attack, McCourt said
such a lapse would be excusable if the officers were busy with
another incident but not if they were "taking a longer coffee break,
not doing what they were supposed to be doing."

Stow's attackers, Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood, pleaded
guilty in February to felony charges in connection with the beating,
which left Stow in a medically induced coma for months and prompted
calls to address violence tied to sports rivalries.

"Like all Dodger fans I was appalled at the criminal behavior of
Sanchez and Norwood and make no mistake, they're the parties
responsible for this tragic incident," McCourt told reporters
outside court following his testimony. "My thoughts and my prayers
continue to go out to Mr. Stow and his family."